While it doesn’t take a degree in psychology to master the art of listening, Dawn Abbuhl has one anyway. The president of Albany, New York-based Repeat Business Systems gleans something of an advantage from her background as a licensed psychologist (she still provides sliding-scale services to families with small children on evenings and weekends). But one mustn’t discount the savvy insights accrued during her nearly 40-year career.
It’s during sales calls that Abbuhl’s people-evaluating skills rise to the occasion. Like a seasoned poker player, Abbuhl can pick up on nonverbal cues including body language. The volume and depth of questions prospects offer and how engaged they are about a given subject has helped unearth opportunities to improve technology for those in dire need but maybe not acutely aware.
“Maybe it’s not my psychology background, maybe it’s just experience, but it makes me a better listener,” she said of her professional training. “And it makes me pay better attention to body language and the message underneath the message.”
As a business owner, the psychology skills have also had a salutary effect on her ability to motivate and lead her unit of 100-plus team members. She dislikes the approach of treating team members as subordinates—or even worse, like children. Words matter, as does being inclusive. Abbuhl seeks to leverage strengths and empower. Mistakes are handled productively; yelling, punitive or critical approaches are unwelcome. It’s a culture of positivity, and as a result, turnover is low.
A longtime Ricoh partner, Repeat Business Systems has grown to a $25 million performer since its 1987 founding by Abbuhl and her husband, John. Its geographic reach touches north of Lake George, south to Binghamton and west to Syracuse. In addition to the state capital region and the 518 area code, the dealer also serves Bennington County in Vermont and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
From a customer standpoint, the company is solidly positioned to address the needs of any organization that has secure or private information. That lends itself to the financial, education, medical, accounting and legal verticals. It may be coincidental that Abbuhl, as a health care professional, cultivated strong partnerships among hospitals, clinics and related clients.
In addition to the Ricoh line (an acquired branch carries Kyocera gear), Repeat Business Systems has developed strong footholds in managed print and network services. It’s the dealer’s advanced managed IT discipline and security focus that’s played well in environments that curate client data. Production equipment is a growing discipline for Abbuhl, and the 13 acquisitions the dealer consummated brought aboard various novel offerings, including mailing equipment. VoIP entered the fray not long into the pandemic period, and the dealer boasts a slew of solutions from document management and backfile conversion services to data capture. As print volumes continue their slow descent, offerings driven by recurring revenue take on more importance (more on this shortly).
Business Genesis
Repeat Business Systems initially sold fax machines before offering the Sharp line of products, becoming the OEM’s biggest east coast seller. Inside of two years, the dealer picked up the Ricoh line. Although the slew of acquisitions carried most of the manufacturers, Ricoh has enjoyed favored nation status with Abbuhl. The first deal was for a company owned by a friend of John’s, and each subsequent addition has brought with it learning opportunities, not to mention growing pains.
“At the time, our processes were a little lean, but we’ve gotten a lot better since then,” she said. “One of the things I learned is that when you begin, start with the end in mind, because you’re going to get bigger. You need to find a system that’s scalable. It doesn’t mean you have to buy the biggest system of whatever you’re going to use, whether it’s CRM or your financial back-end system, but just make sure you can scale it as you get bigger.”
Along the way, Abbuhl flashed a voracious appetite for technology; she loves trying anything new. But what’s thrown against the wall doesn’t always stick, and she once wrote an article about new ventures she took a chance on that didn’t pan out. One area she definitely doesn’t regret entering is the world of managed IT. After relying on outside techs to set up copiers and printers on client networks (and getting burned by no-shows), Abbuhl created an in-house position for unit hookups. This represented the infancy of managed IT, and further acquisitions helped hone the discipline.
MNS Success
The managed IT business continues to flourish. The company grew its engineer staff to 14 and doubled revenue for the division. Abbuhl made the decision to go after new accounts strategically, and she hired an SME who “knows everybody and everything.” The expert then pivoted to evaluating current clients and accompanied account reps during review sessions with those clients who best demonstrated a fit for IT services. Client references, Repeat’s reputation and the strength of its security component have enabled it to gain greater market share.
Having a large presence in the community, from chamber meetings to hospital fundraisers, has drawn attention to not just IT but also other offerings in the Repeat Business Systems catalog. “We’re still making old-fashioned phone calls,” Abbuhl noted. “We also use ZoomInfo and AI for nicely focused marketing campaigns that marry different products we’re marketing with the right accounts. ZoomInfo lets you know who the decision-makers are and who’s in charge of IT or purchasing, which allows us to home in on certain products. ZoomInfo is like anything else—you have to put in the effort to ensure you’re sending the right message to the right people, and you have to follow up.
“I didn’t expect the IT revenue to double, but I can see why it did, because we really made a full-court press on that initiative,” she added. “We’ve never had an IT experience with a customer that I wasn’t incredibly proud of, and hopefully we’ll continue that pace.”
Coming off a wildly successful 2023, Abbuhl projected modest growth for 2024 as she wanted to use the year to reinvest in the company’s processes. She added a new CRM—“It’s been a blessing and a curse,” she noted—which was an important project. Still, Repeat Business Systems exceeded its target.
“If you don’t grow, you’re not even keeping pace with the cost of living and that’s not a good situation,” she said.
The focus and system that has led the IT groundswell was also a catalyst in Repeat Business Systems’ MPS expansion. One of the most common reasons clients abandon their former provider is inaccurate billing. Abbuhl has a system of checks and balances in place to avoid these nuisance issues that frustrate clients. Communicating that awareness at the outset of an engagement helps to establish trust, as evidenced by Repeat Business Systems’ low customer turnover rate.
Versatile Offerings
While Albany isn’t the most fertile territory for production equipment placements, Abbuhl has found opportunities within print shops, schools, shipping companies, direct mail organizations and manufacturing. She was initially skeptical about entering the production world, but given the OEM’s insight into that market and growth projections, she decided to follow Ricoh’s guidance.
Another area that offers high upside potential is solutions selling. Here, too, Abbuhl added an SME who has been tireless in meeting with dozens of prospects each week. The offerings include efaxing, mailing and shipping, document imaging and management solutions. The common denominator is the opportunity to garner recurring revenue that helps mitigate the loss of copier print volumes.
Abbuhl embraces diversifications that can address client needs, and future additions are likely to have an artificial intelligence component. Her aforementioned passion for technology prompted her to hold a lunch-and-learn presentation with a technology expert. Abbuhl invited “every customer on the planet” and the result was an audience hanging on the SME’s every word with rapt interest. From marketing and accounts payable to HR, the possibilities with AI are limitless.
The presentation was purely educational without any selling, but Abbuhl expects to be offering AI-based tools sooner rather than later. “We need to continue to maximize how AI can be useful,” she said. “It needs to check off the box of augmenting a product or service that we already offer and ideally provide a recurring revenue stream. [A diversification] also needs to help set us apart from competitors. It’s all about offering something in a focused way in which we can show a value, a business application and an ROI to our customers.”
Abbuhl is on the lookout for acquisition opportunities that provide a strategic fit and can benefit from the organization’s ever-expanding product portfolio. Still, whether it’s mailing or production equipment, VoIP, IT/security and managed services, she believes there are ample opportunities to expand within Repeat Business Systems’ client list. Net-new business will also be critical in moving the company forward.
Culture Comfort
The attention to customer care is extended to members of the Repeat Business Systems family. The intent is to ensure the dealer is listening to all its teammates and effectively leveraging their skill sets. Abbuhl convenes a focus group each quarter in which people can share their thoughts on the positives and the areas of need within the company. She later reports back on the progress that’s being made to address certain issues.
“Everyone knows how much I value the culture and how people are treated,” she said. “No one’s allowed to raise a voice in any way or be critical. We can talk about an error or how we could have done something better and how we can improve on it. I’m always trying to improve myself and everything we do.”
Abbuhl’s fun side helps cultivate the positive and happy atmosphere. Monthly activities help set a relaxed tone, from Office Olympics and 10-minute chair massages to chili cook-offs and paint-and-sip sessions. Repeat Business Systems also boasts a relaxation room with mood lighting and other amenities.
Working at the dealership requires a proper frame of mind. “If we’re doing a job interview and the candidate doesn’t come in with a big smile and a hello, I just don’t want them,” Abbuhl said. “Everyone has to feel positive and have a reasonably happy disposition. I think it elevates the entire office.”
A kind heart doesn’t hurt, either. If a team member experiences a difficult personal matter, such as a sick spouse, child or other family member, Repeat Business Systems accommodates them in every way possible. One teammate was compelled to move to Texas for an indefinite period in order to care for a loved one, and that person was able to work remotely.
Her kindness can be felt beyond the doors of Repeat Business Systems. Abbuhl is active in the community as a mentor and makes more than 100 donations per year to support local causes.
“Those are the types of things that create the engagement we have, the low turnover and the great working environment,” Abbuhl noted.
As 2025 kicks into high gear, Repeat Business Systems will continue down the path of notching 5% growth per year, which would elevate the company to the $40 million mark in five years. Ensuring profitability accompanies the growth is paramount. Maintaining the slow churn with clients and team members will go a long way toward Abbuhl’s objectives, and she’ll also be focusing on developing her leadership team.
Having her leaders share their knowledge with team members will also benefit Repeat Business Systems in the long run. “As the teams get bigger, it will be important for the leaders to spread their knowledge and superpowers with everyone else,” Abbuhl added. “Ideally, they’ll also spread it to all of our different branches. I’m excited for the year ahead.”
Stepping in Time: Abbuhl Develops Passion, Advanced Skills and a Sense of Community with Latin Dance
At one time a workaholic who now “only” logs “zillions of hours” per week at the office, Dawn Abbuhl has found balance in her life and schedule. It’s attributable to, among other variables, a talented leadership team that can steer the Repeat Business Systems ship when Abbuhl’s away. Also, she’s taken on a relatively new hobby that goes beyond the traditional golfing, hunting and fishing exploits of dealer executives.
Abbuhl’s unicorn passion is being a semi-professional Latin dancer. While she might not clench a rose stem in her teeth, she does perform a dance called the bachata. Why this particular subset of dance? She feels the community of Latin social dance is both welcoming and close-knit. Its ardent performers are blind to anything and everything outside of its circle. Skill level, attractiveness, color, creed, sexual orientation, class, wealth—it all goes out the window when the music starts.
“Nobody knows what you do. You don’t really talk about your work life,” she said. “It’s all about dancing.”
While Abbuhl primarily focuses on bachata, it’s but one of several styles that fall under the social Latin dances (a.k.a. street Latin) category that includes bomba, mambo, merengue, plena, rumba and salsa. She’s advanced to the point where she’ll travel and perform for audiences, but “mostly I just love it as a social dance,” Abbuhl offered.
While on a Ricoh dealer trip to Malta several years ago, Abbuhl was able to find a Latin dance community. But whether it’s Europe, North or South America, etc., Latin social dance provides the universal opportunity for fun and social interaction.
“If you want to dance and you have a smile on your face, you’re in,” she noted. “That’s how it feels to me.”
